YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Police in the Armenian capital on Tuesday forcefully dispersed demonstrators who blocked a central avenue as part of a protest against a hike in electricity prices, arresting more than 200 people.
The scope of the protest and its dispersal represented the most serious unrest Armenia has seen in years, raising concerns about political stability in the impoverished ex-Soviet nation that hosts a Russian military base and is part of a Moscow-dominated economic alliance.
About 5,000 demonstrators marched Monday to the presidential headquarters, but were stopped by phalanxes of riot police backed by water cannons.
The protesters then sat on the road, blocking traffic and ignoring repeated demands by police to leave.
They refused the government’s offers to appoint representatives to present their demands to President Serge Sarkisian and demanded that he attend the rally.